In 1940 Col. Dufort arrives in Timbuktu with his wife to take over the French garrison. This garrison is threatened by a Tuareg uprising supposedly inspired by Mohamet Adjani -- a holy man once regarded as a friend of France. Almost immediately Col. and Mme. Dufort push on to Bou Djebeha in company with an American gunrunner named Mike Conway who soon engages the Colonel's wife in a forbidden romance. At Bou Djebeha Conway learns that the holy man has been kidnapped by an evil Emir who is the true force behind the rebellion. Complications and dangers ensue as Conway and the Colonel try to get the holy man back to Timbuktu so that he can speak out against the rebellion.